


The things we do for love

by Winged_Wolf_Heart



Series: Love you nonetheless [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Disability, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 09:45:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18118280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winged_Wolf_Heart/pseuds/Winged_Wolf_Heart
Summary: If anyone had told Levi a few years ago that he would be committed to and taking care of a disabled partner, he would have laughed in their faces.





	The things we do for love

**Author's Note:**

> My everlasting thanks once again goes @felicityreid. I'm not a native speaker and would be lost without her as beta reader.
> 
> This is a second part to my first fic "Three clues" but can be read seperatly
> 
> Please feel free to visit me on tumblr under wingedwolfheart

Levi knew the moment he heard the crash from upstairs.

“Erwin?” he shouted, hopeful that that his boyfriend would respond, but only an eerie silence followed. He rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time and sprinting down the hall to their bedroom.

The door was ajar and he could hear quiet shuffling noises coming from within the room. Levi tried to push the door open, but found it blocked by something from within. As he stuck his head through the gap in the door, he saw what he had feared: Erwin was lying on their bedroom floor, limbs jerking violently, head flailing, and all Levi could see were the whites of his boyfriend’s eyes.

Erwin’s long legs were keeping the door from opening and he let out a loud curse. Hopefully not hurting Erwin in the process, Levi shoved the door open and he slipped in through the gap. Levi immediately kneeled down at Erwin’s side and put a gentle hand on the side of the thrashing head.

“Shhhh, baby. Shhhh. I'm here,” he cooed, trying to soothe his seizing boyfriend.  
Levi knew that it was probably went unheard by the other man. Erwin had mentioned in passing that he didn't remember anything during these episodes, but Levi couldn't stand the possibility that Erwin was alert enough to experience even a fraction of the fear that these attacks induced in Levi, even if he had no memories of it all afterward.

Levi nervously glanced up at the clock on the wall, tracking the time of the seizure, wondering if he should leave Erwin’s side to call an ambulance. Just as he made up his mind to dash to the phone, he could feel the gradually quieting of Erwin’s body. Limbs started to settle and still, his head had stopped moving wildly. Erwin gave a deep heaving sigh as his body relaxed and his eyelids finally closed.

Everything fell quiet.

Levi felt dread squeezing his chest. The horrific possibility of having witnessed the last moments of his boyfriend’s life slip away in front of him would always terrify him. But he took comfort in knowing the drill.  
Levi took a second to take a deep breath, closing his eyes, and breathed out.

Finally centered once again, he reached out towards Erwin and softly caressed the man´s cheek with the back of his hand. “Hey Erwin, wake up sleepyhead,” he teased lightly, trying to chase the last bits of terror that stuck in his voice away. He brushed his fingertips over Erwin’s earlobe (where the man was embarrassingly ticklish) and followed the curve of his jaw down towards to his chin.

Erwin offered a short snort as his eyelids began to flutter open. The blue pupils once again visible and looking in Levi’s direction; Erwin’s eyes were dark, unfocused, almost stormy. But like bad weather clearing, his eyes returned to their beautiful sky blue as awareness slowly crept back into them.

“Hey,” Erwin quietly slurred, focusing on Levi, who responded with a half-smile.

“Hey there, lazy boy.”

Erwin’s brows furrowed as he slowly grasped what had happened. “S-Seizzzuree?” he slurred and swallowed thickly at the saliva that had pooled in his mouth.

“Yeah, big boy,” Levi confirmed. “Not a long one, but you did fall. Does anything hurt? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

Erwin closed his eyes to focus as he re-attuned to his body, searching for any unexpected abnormalities. Levi saw his limbs carefully moving around as Erwin tested his body like a pilot checking his aircraft preparing for lift off.

“No,” Erwin answered as he reopened his eyes to look at Levi with an apologetic smile. “J-just s-sore.”

Levi was grateful for the thick carpet in their bedroom which no doubt cushioned the fall of his boyfriend. After all, Erwin was a big ass tree and he had quite a distance to go down, taking a tumble.

“Okay. When you feel ready, let's get you standing and then into bed. Thankfully, you didn't land far from it. Your old ass could do us both a favour next time and fall right into bed instead of landing next it, you know,” Levi joked as he helped his boyfriend sit up, slinging an arm around Erwin’s body to steady him.

“I’ll try ...- next time,” Erwin huffed as he gripped Levi’s shoulders. The man’s movements were sluggish and imprecise as they both stood slowly, but it was nothing unexpected after suffering an epileptic event.

Together, they shuffled the three remaining steps to their bed. Levi let Erwin slowly sink down onto the mattress and covered him with the comforter after Erwin clumsily tucked his legs in. The blonde's eyes closed with an exhausted sigh before his body relaxed again into an instant slumber.

Levi sat beside him, stroking a stray strand of hair from Erwin’s sweaty forehead and allowed himself one more a deep breath. He laid his hand atop the bigger man’s chest and let the rise and fall of it calm his hammering heart.

Seeing Erwin like this was always difficult. Had anyone told him a few years ago that he would be committed to and taking care of a disabled partner, he would have laughed in their faces.

In those days, any attachments beyond sexual relief were unthinkable for him. He remembered that he once walked straight out of a relationship after he realized the other man had started coming down with a cold. Even after said partner called him a few days later and asked if he could pick him up some groceries from the store since he was too sick leave the house, Levi answered with a snort. “Yeah. Good luck with that man. I'm not a nursemaid!” and hung straight up.

Levi never heard from the guy again. Guiltily thinking back on it, he hoped that the guy had found a better partner than him, not that would have been a challenge.

That was life for Levi back then, drifting from one partner to another, never getting attached to anyone or anything but his motorcycle.

Then all of sudden, Erwin fucking Smith had walked into his life. In all his golden, handsome, smiling and dorky gloriousness.

Hanji had introduced the two of them and, like he would do with any forced introduction, he snapped at the blonde. But the stubborn golden retriever had just drawn his ridiculous eyebrows up and then had the nerve to chuckle at him with a bright smile which threw Levi for a loop.

Just like that, Erwin stayed in his orbit. Somehow, the man always figured out what Levi was trying to say behind all that the snark, understood his emotions better than Levi himself. The blonde just instinctively knew how to be close to him and at the same time leave Levi enough room to breathe.

Levi became quickly intrigued by the man, even further after Erwin revealed himself to be demisexual and Levi had never meet anyone who didn’t have the initial intention of getting into his pants. The concept of a relationship that was not built on sex was totally alien to him.

Over the months, he felt himself drifting closer and closer to Erwin. Like a fish on the fishing line slowly being pulled in, Levi suddenly realizing that he was indeed caught by the other man – and he didn't mind it at all.

Of course Levi still had his doubts and moods and his need to roam free, to escape. Needing a break, Levi one day just gotten up and left for a few days.  
Never before had he someone to tell of his whereabouts. For fucks sake, even Kenny didn't care when he fucked off for a couple of days as a kid. It didn’t even occur to him to tell Erwin. But the moment he returned, and Levi saw the pain in Erwin’s eyes, he realized he made a mistake.

With a broken voice, the blonde hugged him tightly to his chest and described the anxiety Levi’s sudden disappearance had caused: the ever present fear of Levi having been killed or injured needing his help.  
Seeing the suffering he had caused the other man stung his heart, or it rather felt like an extremely painful kick to the nuts.

As he stood there with painfully aching balls, Erwin hugging him tightly and clutching him to his chest, Levi finally came to the realization that he loved Erwin fucking Smith, not wanting anything to hurt the man.

Levi still needed to run sometimes, driving around aimlessly, but he made an effort to tell Erwin if he was going to leave. If he need to stay the night somewhere, he even called the old dork. At first, he was just doing it to keep Erwin from worrying, but he had to admit that he did miss Erwin during his spontaneous trips. The need to break out and just go never disappeared, but Levi always happily returned to him the moment that need was satisfied.

Just when Levi felt he finally found a home, disaster struck. Of fucking course Levi never was allowed to have something perfect for long.

The simplicity of it was almost funny: Erwin Smith had bumped his head. It had happened on an ordinary day at his workplace. While standing up after retrieving his mug from the companies dishwasher, his skull collided with the corner of overhead cupboard door one of his co-workers had failed to close. 

The incident left Erwin with a bleeding gash at the top of his forehead. There didn’t seem to be any additional cause for concern, but because the injury had happened on company property, Erwin won a free ride on an ambulance to be checked out by a doctor.

Mike was the one to call and tell Levi that Erwin was on his way to the hospital for probably some stitches and that he would need to pick the blonde up from the nearest hospital.

Levi agreed, but not before he complained about it to Mike, grumbling about stupid people who couldn't close cupboard doors correctly and about huge-ass clumsy boyfriends who just need to smack their big blonde melons right into said doors.

Levi arrived at the emergency room fully equipped to tease Erwin to no end about the incident. But when he gave the receptionist Erwin’s name, he was met with an uneasy stare and was told to take a seat. Dread immediately started to take hold of Levi and squeeze his chest painfully. 

It felt like an eternity in hell before a doctor finally came to him to fill him in on the situation.

The doctor solemnly explained that Erwin had suddenly lost conscious in the ambulance. The smack had been hard enough to cause internal damage. The CT scan revealed that he was suffering from cerebral swelling.  
Erwin had been admitted into intensive care to be closely monitored. The doctors being concerned of the life-threatening complications that could occur with this diagnosis.

Levi felt like he was drowning in a sea of anxiety, making the edges of his vision go dark.

The doctor assured him that his boyfriend was in the best hands and that there was no need for surgery just yet. The condition normally resolved itself with medication and rest.

As he was taken back into the ICU and finally allowed to see the man, his man, lying there looking so small in the hospital bed, Levi was absolutely overwhelmed. Erwin was pale, vulnerable, and surrounded by a myriad of machines. It all felt so surreal.

Unexpectedly, Erwin was awake and his pale face brightened as he spotted his boyfriend entering the doorway. He was sluggish, eyes half lidded, and looked utterly exhausted. The nurses assured Levi that, considering the circumstances, everything seemed fine for now. His boyfriend was just mildly sedated to keep him calm and as relaxed as possible.

Over the next hours, Levi just sat there and observed Erwin’s drifting in and out of conciseness, exchanging a few reassuring moments whenever the blonde seemed lucid enough. He was slowly on the verge of believing they averted a disaster when everything went to hell.

Erwin suddenly bolted upright, the man's gaze borrowing into his, “Levi!” he called out frightened.

Levi immediately was at his bedside. “Erwin? I’m right here. What is it? Do you need anything? Do I need to call the doctor?”

But Erwin just stared at him silently. That was the moment Levi noticed Erwin’s eyes where moving erratically, pupils trembling and not focusing on anything.

Levi pushed a button to call the nurse as Erwin kept silent and frozen into place. Before any help could arrive, Erwin’s eyes abruptly rolled into his skull as his body began to seize.

The machines surrounding Erwin began to scream with alarms. Nurses and doctors rushed in, pushing Levi out of the room and into the hallway wall. While he stood there shaking, the old familiar voice was telling him to run, to flee, to just go and never look back. But there was a new voice suggesting he should stay, protect Erwin and be with him to his last breath even if that means he had to see the love of his life die in front of him.

His internal battle caused his shoulders to start shaking violently and rooted his feet to the floor. Levi slowly sunk to the ground, his heart hammering loudly in his ears as everything seemed to disappear around him.

Levi couldn’t remember reaching into his pocket, but as his awareness returned, he realized he was clutching his phone so tightly to his ear that it surely would have broken a modern smartphone to pieces – a detached part of his mind was thankful he never upgraded his old but sturdy Nokia phone.

“Mom,” he sobbed over and over into the speaker, tears running down his face. It took a while to register his mother’s frantic but soothing voice over his own. “Levi? Baby boy, what's wrong? Baby...? I'm here, baby. Calm down. I can't understand you.”

Levi wanted to tell his mother what was going on, but his whole body was shivering horrible and he couldn't form words needed to effectively communicate. “Mom.” He found himself repeating in a desperate voice wracked with sobs. He was absolutely stunned at his own behavior. He never would have expected to need his Mom like this.  
He wanted to just grit his teeth and suck it up just like his uncle always told him a man should do. After all, tears never had made any situation better.

But here he was, crying and sobbing on the hospital floor, calling out for his mother who was getting desperate on the other end of the line, asking him again and again what was wrong, if he was hurt, if she should call the cops to come get him.

Before the situation could get any worse he felt a soft hand land on his shoulder. A small blonde nurse kneeled before him smiling kindly. She removed the phone from his surprisingly weak hands and started to introduce herself to his mother while gently petting Levi’s shoulder. Part of him was so offended by this action he wanted to lash out at her but, he found himself leaning into her touch.

“This is nurse Krista. Who is speaking? - You were just talking to your son? - Yes, he is in the hospital but he is not injured or sick. - I believe he is crying because a person he cares about just suffered a seizure and it spooked him. - No, it’s alright now. With the man’s injuries seizures aren’t uncommon. - No, I can't tell you more right now, but I’m sure your son will call you back later when he has calmed down. - Yes, we will keep an eye on him too.”

Nurse Krista hung up the phone and placed it back into his hand. Levi found himself gazing up at the nurse, his whole body still shaking and hiccuping pathetically but there were no more tears streaming down his face.

“He-he's alright?” His voice was voice small and rough.

Krista smiled down at him. “I wouldn't say alright, but like I told your mother, seizures can happen during increased cranial pressure. He’s sleeping now. He's not out of the woods yet but he isn't dying either.”

She had ushered him back to Erwin’s bedside, who was now fully unconscious. She wrapped Levi in a blanket and pressed a cup of coffee into his hands. Where did that come from? And he even drank that shit because he was too stunned and numb to do anything else or request differently.

The following days where made out of nightmares. Levi learned to monitor Erwin closely, watching for anything out of the ordinary, learning to read the machines attached to his boyfriend, calling for help as soon as anything changed in the man's condition. After a few times Levi could predict Erwin's impending seizures faster than the hospital equipment.

Well-wishers started to come by after the news about Erwin's condition spread. Mike, Nanaba, Hanji, Moblit, even Farlan and Isabel dropped by to show their support.  
Levi didn’t say it out loud, but he despised their visits. Hospital ICU policies allowed only one visitor at a time and he hated that he had to leave the man alone even for for a few minutes. His friends eventually forced him home to shower and a change into fresh clothes, (first time for everything he supposed). He returned to Erwin’s bedside as fast as he could, snatching and clutching the man's hand like a drowning sailor a lifebelt.

Secondly, he loathed the hushed tones there friends spoke to him and Erwin. Even Hanji seemed muted and solemn. That fact alone freaked Levi out more than he cared to admit. It was a strange atmosphere; almost like if Erwin was laying on his deathbed and Levi was the spouse who had to prepare for the worst.

However, he learned to appreciate the nurses, especially Krista, always sweeping into the room bright and positive, absolute no negativity. She was always followed by nurse Ymir who preferred dark humour and sarcasm almost as much as Levi and started to bicker with him the second she stepped into the room. It was a welcome change of the dire routine.

Levi tried to call his mother as often as possible, updating her on Erwin’s status and reassuring her that she didn't need to come all the way out to the city. He must have truly scared the poor woman.

Levi was trapped in a spiral of despair. He spend the nights at Erwin’s bedside, clutching the mans hand tightly, afraid of letting go. He was so convinced that only bad things could happen to him that he first didn't saw the positives signs that Erwin was starting to recover.

As the cranial pressure resided, Erwin became notably more aware and stable. He was conscious for longer and longer periods of time and started chatting brightly with Levi and the hospital staff. Erwin was nearly back to his bright golden self again - but the seizures never left.

They got the official diagnosis a few days later: epilepsy due to trauma. Erwin would need to continually take medication to help control the frequency of the attacks, but but seizure would still be present and probably would stay with him the rest of his life.

The doctor left them alone after delivering the diagnosis.

Erwin didn't look at him, instead he was fiddling with his pulse monitor that was still wrapped around his finger. Avoiding his gaze, Levi could literally feel him thinking.

“Um…,” he began, his eyes flicking to him shortly but looking down again before Levi could catch his gaze. “Uh, Levi, I…I really appreciate you being here with me through it all. I know it must have been very difficult for you. I...I can totally understand if you want to...”  
He trailed off and made a waving motion between them. “I mean it's only reasonable…if you don't want…” he swallowed thickly.

“Erwin!” Levi shouted, interrupting his boyfriend, who flinched and continued to fiddle. “Hey, you big oaf. Look at me!”

Erwin hesitantly lifted his head but his eyes were still looking past him. Levi snatched his big dumb head in both of his hands and drew his face to his and Erwin’s eyes hesitantly focused on him.

“Listen to me closely, big boy. I love you. And I almost lost you. I know I had stupid attachment issues before I met you but not any more. I thought you were going to die and all of this have been the most horrible moments in my life. If you think, even for a second, I will leave you just because you fall to the ground and twitch sometimes… newsflash for you: I don’t care. Because the alternative, was unthinkable. This...this epilepsy thing... it’s nothing, I repeat, nothing, compared to the things that could have happened. So no, I don't want to break up with you you big idiot. You are stuck with me!”

Erwin had looked at him, all puppy dog eyed and stunned, before grabbing him and drawing him in the most passionately kiss Levi had experienced.

As Levi’s luck would have it, that was when nurse Ymir choose to walk in on them. “Ewwww. Gross! Cut that out, you ugly old men! I'm going blind!”

“Oi! Shut it Ymir,” Levi cursed back at her. “It's not our problem that you are thirsting after Krista’s little ass and you don't have the guts to ask her out already!”

That had dissolved into a bickering match, but Erwin sat happily beside him, hands tightly clutched over Levi’s and smiling brightly like the old sap he was.

 

There had been lot of changes after Erwin came home from the hospital. His driver’s license was retracted and because of his disability, his employment contract got changed to a lot less working hours a week.  
Additionally, Erwin did mostly work from his home office now, Mike only picked him up the few days he was needed to be in the company to attend meetings.

Levi elected to work from home more often well. After they sold Erwin’s car, he had converted the second garage into a little workshop where he could work on the customized motorcycles.  
He still had to go to the shop in town though. But Isabel and Farlan seemed to finally have grown up enough to not need Levi’s consistent supervision.

Old man Shadis, the owner of Wings of Freedom: Custom Motorcycles, had been surprisingly willing to let Levi shoulder a lot of work from his home engine shed.

“Of course he agreed,” Farlan had pointed out to Levi, who was baffled after the easily achieved concessions. “You are his best worker. He knows he can't lose you, after all you could just as easily open your own shop and more than 50% of our customer base would follow you!”

“Yep,” Isabel added. “And about half of the working staff as well.” She winked at him over the saddle of the bike she was currently working on.

Their friends where extremely helpful in the transition as well. Before Erwin even was released from the hospital they had a “house renovation party”. Mike, Nanaba, Hanji, Moblit, Isabel, and Farlan had invaded their home to help make it “Erwin proof.” Edge and corner guards where applied to furniture, new fluffy thick rugs strewn around the house, shower padding was installed, and useless and potentially dangerous decorations were either thrown away or put in storage.

Nurses Krista and Ymir even came over to give everyone a “seizure 101”, which ended up with all their friends practicing their first aid skills on their living room floor.

As Levi watched Moblit trying to keep an enthusiastically overacting, seizing, and screeching Hanji safe on the ground, Levi, for the first time, realized how blessed his sorry ass was.

He had a beautiful and loving boyfriend, a workplace where he could roam free, and friends who would do anything to for his partner.

The realization still warmed his heart to this day- to know that they would always have support if needed made moments like this a lot easier.

Levi was still sitting beside his slumbering partner who was resting in their bed beside him now. His hand was still laying on the bigger mans chest to silently monitor his breathing while Erwin slept exhausted from his recent seizure. He had to wake up Erwin again soon to bathe him; epileptic episodes always caused the man cold sweat afterwards, resulting him to shiver. He didn't want the man to catch a cold. Levi rose from his spot and went to the attached master bathroom to draw a bath for the blonde.

 

As everything was prepared he went to wake the man from his slumber. Levi sat on the bed’s edge and looked at his peaceful slumbering boyfriend. He really wanted to let him sleep, but he needed to get the man out of his sticky clothes, cleaned, and eventually get some food into him before he could call it a day. Plus, Erwin always hated oversleeping after a seizure, sometimes sleeping upwards of fourteen hours after an epileptic episode. If he did so, Erwin complained about headaches and general haziness afterwards.  
They found through trial and error that Erwin just needed a short nap to reboot his body after an attack. He’d be groggy, but fairly functional after being roused again.

He brushed over Erwin's cool brow. “Get up, old man. You’re gross,” Levi teased as he tugged the other man’s earlobe. Erwin grunted and tried to brush the tickling hand away before his eyes fluttered open. Sky blue eyes focused on him and as the last fogs of sleep vanished. Erwin sat up in bed and groaned.

“Sore?” Levi asked him as he brushed his hand over the blondes back.

“Yeah,” he replied groggy, smacking his lips. “I’m guessing I had a seizure?” He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his movements once again controlled but still slightly stiff.

“Yep,” Levi confirmed. “Come on, I drew you a bath.”

“Where did I fall?” the man asked, scooting closer to sit beside his boyfriend.

“Right there.” Levi pointed to the rug that lay in front of the door.

“Oof. I should aim for the bed next time.”

“Yeah, smart ass. I already suggested that to you.”

“You did?” Erwin’s eyebrows rose and he started to frown. “I'm sorry, darling. I forgot.”

“No big deal, humpty dumpty. You always do,” Levi teased. “One of these days, I should take advantage of that.” Levi got up from the bed and attempted to take Erwin with him, but the blonde grabbed his hips and drew him close, hugging his hips tightly to his face.

“Is that so?” Erwin asked teasingly, from his spot against Levi's belly. “And what would you do to me?”

“Hmm, let me think... maybe I let you sign a contract making it punishable by law to leave socks lying all around the house?”

Erwin pouted as he released Levi's hips and got up from the bed.

“Oi! Don't pout, you big oaf. You are the only person that would want to be molested in such a situation! Pervert.” Levi followed Erwin into the bathroom.

Erwin chuckled. “Only by you, my love. Just by you.” He drew up his shirt and winced.

Levi was beside him in a flash. “Everything okay?” His teasing tone forgotten and he frowned up at Erwin's chest. A bruise was forming just over the shoulder blade.

“It's alright, but it looks like I landed on it,” Erwin responded as he threw his shirt on the floor. Normally, Levi would have nagged him until he picked it up, but considering he just suffered a seizure, he was given some slack. The things one does for love.

Erwin continued to remove his pants as he sat on the tubs edge. He reached out to remove his socks and winced again. Levi rolled his eyes and kneeled down at his feet.

“Let me do that before you fall over, old man.” he said as he took the socks of Erwin’s feet. “And get in the water. You stink.” He smacked a quick kiss to Erwin’s knee before getting up himself.

Erwin lowered himself down into the water with a groan as Levi started to remove his own clothes.

Bathing had been one of the things Erwin was no longer allowed to do without supervision. The danger of the man having a seizure in the tub and drowning was a risk both were not willing to take.  
Levi made sure that bathing together became routine after the seizures began. The heat helping with Erwin’s sore muscles and relaxing both their minds after an attack.

Getting into the tub, Levi snuggled his back into his boyfriend’s oversized chest. Erwin’s arm drew him into an embrace as is cheek rested on Levi's hair.

“Was it a scary one?” the big man inquired quietly.

“Nah. Pretty standard,” Levi replied as the heat visibly melted away the tension in his muscles. “Not long, maybe two minutes. You did make a big crash though, and were pretty groggy afterwards.”

Erwin hummed, brushing his cheek back and forth over Levi's hair. “I’ll text Mike that I am taking tomorrow off. Tomorrow is a Friday anyway, not much to do and I still feel a bit woozy. I don't want to risk another one.”

That too, had been a learning curve for Erwin. A workaholic before the accident, always working overtime, pulling all-nighters to finish projects. He was often the first to come and last to leave the company grounds.

Even though he was working far less hours and working from home, Erwin had learned the hard way to pace himself, discovering that pushing too hard after a seizure could trigger another one. Having two seizures too close together always earned him a trip to the hospital, a series of tests, a few days in a hospital bed under observation, and a terrifying scolding from Nurse Krista for overdoing it. She was a sweetheart, but could turn gremlin in an instant.

“I’ll tell Shadis that I won't be coming into the shop tomorrow as well,” Levi agreed. “I still have some airbrush work to do on the bike in the engine shed. But I should finish early. It looks like we have a little long weekend ahead of us.”

Erwin hummed happily at him.

As the water turned cold, Levi helped Erwin out of the tub before he fetched the man’s sleep shirt. Ushering the man downstairs and onto the sofa, Levi put on a random Disney movie he grabbed from their movie collection.

They discovered that after an epileptic episode, Erwin tolerated movies he was extremely familiar with the best. But anything too stressful, such as action or horror, would overstimulate his brain so they where stuck with Erwin's favorite movies from his childhood.

And so Erwin was now swaddled in soft blankets, laying on the sofa, and happily following a dancing and singing lion cub on the screen as Levi vanished into the kitchen to start dinner.

Levi wasn’t the best cook. His old apartment didn't even have a stove, he had to microwave everything but most of the time he didn't bother at all and just survived on cups of noodles.  
When he had met Erwin, he discovered the man had greatly enjoyed cooking for him, often serving what Levi would label “fancy meals.” Erwin was always sickeningly happy when he made Levi something that he never before tasted.

This was another area of Erwin’s life seizures had restricted. He could no longer cook the way he used to do. The possibility of tipping hot pans and pots from the stove or falling into shards of broken dishes were yet another hazard.

So, Levi had begrudgingly learned to cook alongside his boyfriend. At first, it was disgusting to be handling all this grime, fat, and grossness that cooking involves, but he eventually learned to enjoy himself. He had even found some recipes he wanted to try and cooking became a thing they could enjoy together.

But after an episode, Levi didn't allow Erwin anywhere near the kitchen. The man was often too groggy and clumsy afterwards to be of any real help and Levi couldn't concentrate if his boyfriend was standing there all tousled and eyes half lidded and – well - cute.

Levi was in the middle of putting the casserole into the oven when he heard Erwin shouting something from the living room. “I can't understand you, dumbass!” he hollered back. “Hold on, I’ll be there once I but this shit in the oven!”

Levi found Erwin sitting upright on the sofa, blanket wrapped over his head, his face illuminated from his phone screen. He looked up as he noticed Levi standing there observing him.

“Mike asked if he can come over Saturday. He bought this new boardgame, ‘Terraforming Mars,’ and he wants to play it with us,” the blonde informed him, wearing his best puppy dog look. Erwin could hear Levi’s signature ‘tch’ even with the blanket covering his ears.

“Good luck with that!” Levi replied. “I'm not playing that shit with you guys. If he comes over here, tell him to bring his wife so at least the sane people can have some fun too.”

Erwin opened his blanketed arms in a silent invitation to join him on the couch. Levi was able to resist only for a second before he gave in and sank into the warmth of the blonde’s embrace. The bigger man wrapped him in his arms and blanket before leaning back, pulling Levi with him.

“Mike even bought a custom player marker for the game. Look! It’s a little Mars rover,” Erwin told him excitedly as he put the phone right in Levi's face.

Levi snorted. “That's ridiculous. You two should rather terraform our garden before you start terraforming Mars.”

Levi relaxed into his boyfriend chest as Erwin just chuckled and put his phone away. The blonde laid his head on top of his raven hair, both now paying attention to the movie on the screen.

Levi watched for a few minutes before remembering the casserole in the oven. He moved to get up to go check on their dinner when Erwin tightened his arms around him.

“Stay for a second longer, Lee. This is my favorite part!”

Levi sighed in easy defeat and stayed in Erwin’s embrace, listening to his partner humming along to a song where two lions made bedroom eyes at each other and pig and a fucking rat sang along to it.

 

Ah, the things he did for love –he didn't mind at all.


End file.
